Boat propelling mechanism



July 15, V1941. c. w. ALLEN BOAT PROPELLING MECHANISMY Filed April-11.,1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 K IN EN TOR.

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July 15, 1941- c. w. ALLEN 2,248,930

BOAT PROPELLING' MECHANISM A Filed April 1l, 1938 l 4 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR- Jv/mz 1J.' www.

' ATTORNEY:

July 15, 1941. c. w. ALLEN 'BOAT PROPELLING MECHANISM Filed April 11,1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 uson A TTORN EY July 1 5, 1941- c. w. ALLEN2,248,930

BOAT PROPELLING MECIIANISM` Filed April 11, 193'58 l 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVEN TOR. ZJ' afn/ A TTORNEY Patented July 15, 1941 UNITED STATI-:s'PATENT oFFlcE cartaceov BOAT PRQPE'LLING illECHANIsivr Clarence W.Allen, San Francisco, Calif. amenacen Aprilli, lcsaseriei Ne. 201,337

11 Claims.

This invention relates to a boat propelling mechanism, andparticularly.toA a mechanism of,V this character which may be employednot only as a propelling mechanism but also, to steer and reverse theboat. l

The object of the present invention is generally to improve and simplifythe construction and operation of boat propelling mechanisms; to providea propelling mechanism whereby the boat may be propelled, steered and'reversed; toA Drovide a propelling mechanism in which the propellerproper is mounted in a recess formed in the stern of` the boat and, incombination therewith, steeringrmeans whereby the propeller may be swungcompletely around and in a circle, f/orsteeringl and reversing purposes;torprovide means in combination withfthe steering lmechanism wherebyythe direction in which the boat is being propelled is visually indicatedat all times; and further, to provide a drive for the propellercomprising a pair of manually reciprocated rods, an endless chain, toopposite sides of which the rods are connected, a sprocket gear drivenby the chain, a drive shaft alternately driven in opposite directions bythe 'sprocket and chain, and in conjunction therewithz'means wherebycontinuous rotation in one directionis transmitted to the 'propellershaft from the drive shaft. v

The boat propelling mechanism is shown kby way of illustration in theaccompanying drawings, in Which- Fig. 1 lis an enlarged side elevationin section of the stern end of the boat and the propelling mechanismmounted therein;

Fig. 2 is a cross-section taken on line II-II of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken online III-III of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section-of a life boat showing the middle andrear portion-of the same, said view also showing the propellingmechanism in side elevation;

Fig. 5 is a perspective View of the hand grips whereby the propellingrods are grasped and reciprocated;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one of the guide rollers;

Fig. 7 is a cross-section of one of the pawl clutches taken on lineVII-VII of Fig. l;

Fig. 8 is a plan View of the boat;

Fig. 9 is a perspective View showing the reinforcing `mem-ber interposedbetween the keel andthe sternpost of the boat;

Fig. 10 isa cross-section taken on line X--Xvof Fig. 9; and y f Fig. 11isa cross-section taken on line XI--XI oiFg; 9. j v Referring to thedrawings in detail, and particularly to Figs. 1 and 4, A indicates inVgeneral a lifeboat, 2 the seats or thwarts extending crosswise thereof,and 3 the stern seat or deck. The boat may -be planked or. built frommetal, but in either instance is shaped to form a propeller recessB,which is vguarded by extending the'keel 4 rearwardly under the recessand thenjupward` ly to form the sternpost 5.0i the boat or to reinforcethe same. D sDQsed under the stern seat or deck 3 is a housing C, andforming a support for. one end lthereof is a bearingsleeve 6. The

opposite end of the housing may be sec'uredin' any suitable manner, butis herev shown as `secured orsupported by bolts l.

Extended through the bearing sleeve Slis, aV steering column in theupper; end of which is secured a sprocket gear 9. Thel outer end of thensteering column is hanged to` receive and secure a torpedo-shapedhousing D in which are formed" Ill-l IlV to receive and support aprobearings l e peller shaft Il which is extended at one end'A toreceive a propeller I2.

Extending through the steering column is a.d

drive shaft I4. Secured of is a sprocket gear I5, and` secured on thelower. end of the shaftV is a bevel gear 1 6 which inter# meshesl vwitha pair Qf bevel gears-l1 and la which are loosely mountedon thepropeller sha Each ofthe gearsY on the upper end there- Y and mounted oneach hubA are a plurality ofY pawls i9 (see Fig. 'D which engage teeth20 formed on the inner face of a. flange ZI, said flange being'secure'dto a hub which in turn' is secur'dto the lpropeller shaft Il. The pawlson one gear hub ride free while the pawls on the. This is due to thefact otherv gear hub engage. that when the propelling mechanism is inoperation, shaft lil is rotated alternately in one direction and theninthe other. The gears ll'l and1|8 will thus be alternately rotatedandreversed, but as they merely form drivers, and* asfthepawlsalternately engage, continuous y.motion in one. diil'ctionjwill Abetransmittedt the propeller shaft Adjustably secured to theforwardrendofthe housing is a clevis member 24; extending there- Y through is abearing pin l25, and iournaled mereon is a. sprocket gear Ifia whichcooperates with the sprocketgear l5. That is, an endless' chain 2'6iscarr-ied by the sprockets I1 and I8 is provided with Y l5 ana'lsa,anais divided by said sprockets into two reach portions 2'I and 28.

Extending into the housing are a pair of rods 30 and 3|. These aredisposed one on each side of the sprocket chain 26 and adjacent thereaches 2'I and 28l thereof. On the inner end of each rod is secured adrive arm, one being indicated at 33a and the other at 3io. These armseach carry a roller 32 which engages the other side of the angle irontrack 33. Also, eachV arm carries a guide roller 34 which rides on andis guided by a rod 35. That is', there is one rod and roller 34 for eachof the arms 30a and 3Ia., and there v is a roller 32 and guide track 33for each Aof the arms. It may furthermore be stated that the inner endof the arm 3Ia. is secured as at 28a to the reach 28 of the chain, whilethe op-posite arm 30a is secured as at 21a to the reach 21 of the chain.

Reciprocal movement is transmitted t-o the rods 30 and 3| as willhereinafter be described, when the propelling mechanism is in operation.This reciprocal movement is transmitted to the chain to alternately pullit back and forth, and vthus movementis in turn transmitted toalternately rotate the drive shaft I4 first inone direction and then inanother, said moti-on, however, being converted into continuous rotationin one direction vat the propeller shaft, through the pawl clutches, aspreviously described. The rods 30 and 3l, together with the chain 26,the sprocket gear I5, the drive shaft I4, gears I6, I1 and I8,togetherwith the pawl clutches, f-orm the driving mechanism whereby lthepropeller is driven.

Means are also provided for swinging the torpedo-shaped housing D,together with the pro-- peller shaft and propeller, about the verticalaxis of the drive shaft I4, so that Vthe propelling mechanism may beemployed not only for propelling 'purposes but also for steering andreversal of the boat. To permit steering and reversing, a vsprocket gear40 is secured on a shaft 4I which will hereinafter be referred to as theindicator shaft, as an indicating finger or pointer 42 is secured on theupper end thereof. Shaft 4I is journaled in the housing as shown. Asimilar shaft is also journaled in the housing shown at 43. This shaftis provided with 'a steering crank 44 at its upper end, the lower endcarrying a gear pinion 45, and this meshes with a gear 4B which issecured on shaft 4I. By rotating shaft 43 through means of the-steeringcrank 44, rotary motion will be transmitted to the shaft 4I throughmeans of the gears 45 and 46, and as the sprockets 4U and 9 are* alsosecured-thereon, motion will be transmitted to rotatethe steeringcolumn, asthe sprockets 40 and 9 are connected by an endless'chain 41.When motion istransmitted to the steering column, housingD which carriesthe propeller will swing with it, and the propeller may thus be pointedin any direction from full ahead to full reverse, and as shaft 4Irotates when shaft 43 is rotated, an indicator 42 may-be employed, whichindicates the direction in which the boat is being propelled; That is,its pointer end always assumes a position opposite to that assumed bythe propeller. If the propeller is driving the" boat ahead, it willpoint rearwardly, as shown in Fig.l 1, while the pointer 42 will pointahead. If the propeller is swung 90 towards the left side of the boat,the pointer will point directly inthe opposite direction, as that is thedirection in 'which the steering end of the boat will be propelled orpushed by the propeller. gain, if

the propeller is swung to reverse position, or that indicated by dottedlines at I2a in Fig. 1, the pointer would point directly astern, showingthat the boat is being reversed. Hence the pointer always points in -adirection in which the boat is being propelled.

While different types of manually controlled mechanisms may be employedfor the purpose of imparting a reciprocal movement to the rods 30 and3|', a type of mechanism such as shown in Figs. 4 and 8 is preferable,as it permits the maximum number of men or individuals in the boat tooperate the same. Two rods such as indic-ated at 50 and 5I are employed.These are disposed above the seats or thwarts of the boat,

and are supported by guide rollers 52, so as to reduce friction .to aminimum. Sleeves 53 having a pair of handles 54 affixed .thereto at eachend are applied to the rods 50 and 5I, and secured'thereto. With threesets of hand grips secured to each rod, it becomes possible to employeighteen men, six in the middle between the rods.' and six on theexterior side of each rod. Thus considerable man-power may be used ifrequired, the men standing between lthe rods using both hands to pushand pull on the rods, while the men standing on the outer sides of therods use only one hand to push and pull. The reciprocal movement thustransmitted to the rods-50 and 5I may be directly transmitted to therods -30 and 3|, if they align properly; on the other hand, if they donot, the movement maybe transmitted from one set of rods to another,.through link and bracket connections such as shown at 60, Bland 62.Suice it to say that the dir-ect push and-pull action of the crew orother 'occupants of the boat which is transmitted to the rods is in turntransmitted to the chain 25 through the arms 30a and 3Ia. This in turntransmits motion through the drive shaft I4 tothe propeller shaft II,and transmission lost through friction is reduced to a minimum. Thepropelling mechanism permits propulsion, steering and reverse, and arudder and reversinggmech-anism may .thus be entirely eliminated.

'The propeller` and housing, regardless of its position, is protected bythe keel While in shallow water, as it is positioned above the bottom ofthe boat. This isl an important feature when beaching a boat. Also thepropeller housing, being substantially under the stern within the recessand above the keel, is protected from imp-act'with other objects such asboats or wharves, etc.

There is also a special casting 63 (see Figs. 1 and 9) to provide areinforcement for the recess formed in the stern of the boat. Thiscasting is secured .to the keel and sternpost to insure a rigidfoundation for the mounting of the bearing sleeve or -tube 6, saidsleeve or tube in turn supplying support for one end of the housing C.The reinforcing casting is provided with a flange r64 on each side towhich the Flanking of the boat is riveted or otherwise secured. Thecasting conforms in shape to the contour of the recess formed in thestern of the boat, and a portion of the casting shown at 65 issubstantially V-shaped in cross-section, as shown in Fig. 1=1, to permitthe stern portion of the boat adjacent the recess to be tapered off sothat there will not be any appreciable drag. It should be clearlyunderstood that the recess is built '2,248,930 within the lines ofthe:boat and is not formed by an extension of the keel and the sternpost.

While these -and other features of the present invention have been moreor less s'peciflcallyvdescribed" and illustrated, I wish itunderstoodthat various changes may be resorted to within'the scope ofthe appended claims, and that the ma;- terials and finish of the severalpartsk employed may be such as the judgment. and experience of themanufacturer lnay dictate or other conditions may demand.

Having thus described'and illustrated my invention, what I claim anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is- Y 1. A boat propelling mechanismcomprising a support, a vertically disposed drive shaft, a sprocket gearjournaled in the supportV at one end thereof, a sprocket gear secured tothe drive shaft and disposed adjacent the opposite end of the support,an endless chain carried by'said sprocket gears, said chain presentingtwo reach portions, a pair of reciprocal members in the support, oneadjacent each reach of the chain, and a connection between eachreciprocal member and the adjacent reach of the chain, whereby the chainmay be vpulled back and forth, and rotary `movement is transmitted tothe sprocket and the drive shaft to alternately rotate the shaft inopposite directions.

2. A boat propelling mechanism comprising a support, a verticallydisposed drive shaft, a sprocket gear journaled in the support at oneend thereof, a sprocket gear secured to the drive shaft and disposedadjacent the opposite end of the support, an endless chain carried bysaid sprocket gears, said chain presenting two reach portions, a pair ofreciprocal members in the support, one adjacent each reach of the chain,a connection vbetween each reciprocal member and the adjacent reach ofthe chain, whereby the chain may be pulled back and forth, and rotarymovement is transmitted to the sprocket and the drive shaft toalternately rotate the shaft in opposite directions, a steering columnadapted to be journaled in the boat, through which the drive shaftextends, a housing secured on the lower end of said column, a propellershaft journaled in the housing and projecting through the same tosupport a propeller, a driving connection lbetween the drive andpropeller shafts, and means for transmitting the alternate rotations ofthe drive shaft to rotate the propeller shaft in one direction.

3. A boat propelling mechanism comprising a support, a verticallydisposed drive shaft, a sprocket gear journaled in the support at oneend thereof, a sprocket gear secured to the drive shaft and disposedadjacent the opposite end of the support, an endless chain carried bysaid sprocket gears, said chain presenting two reach portions, a pair ofreciprocal members in the support, one adjacent each reach of the chain,a connection between each reciprocal member and the adjacent reach ofthe chain, whereby the chain may be pulled back and forth, and rotarymovement is transmitted to the sprocket and the drive shaft toalternately rotate the shaft in opposite directions, a steering columnadapted to be journaled in the boat, through which the drive shaftextends, a .propeller shaft journaled at the lower end of the steelingcolumn and driven by the drive shaft, a propeller on the propellershaft, and means for rotating the steering column and the propellershaft about the drive shaft to point the propeller shaft and propellerin any direction from 'ahead to reverse to steer and tov lreverse theboat.

I4. A' boat propellingmechanism comprising a support, a sprocket gearjournaled at each end ofthe support, an endlessV sprocketr chain carriedbythe sprocket gears, said gears separating the chain into twoI reachportions, a pair of reciprocal rods mountedin the support, one adjacenteachireach of the chain, a drive shaft driven by one ofthe sprockets,and a connection between. each rod and the adjacent. reach of the chainwhereby reciprocal movement; of the rods is .transmitted to impart aback and forth movement ofthe chain and alternate rotation of the driveshaft in opposite directions.

5. A boat propelling mechanism comprising .a support, a Asprocket gearjournaled at each end ofthe support, an endless sprocket chain carried@by thesprocket gears, said gears. separating the chain intoy two reachportions, a pair of reciprocal rods mounted inthe support, one adjacenteach reach of the chain, an larm on each rod, a connection between eacharm and the adjacent reach of the chain whereby reciprocal movementofthe rods is vtransmitted to impart a back and forth movement of thechain and alternate rotation of the sprocket gears in oppositedirections, a drive shaft driven by one of the sprockets, and means forguiding thereciprocall rods and `th arms secured thereto.

6. A boat propelling ymechanism comprising a support,y a sprocket gearjournaled at each endof the support, an .endless sprocket chain carriedby the sprocket gears, said gears separating the chain into two reachportions, a pair of reciprocal rods mounted in the support, one adjacenteach reach of the chain, an arm on each rod, a connection between eacharm and the adjacent reach of the chain whereby reciprocal movement ofthe rods is :transmitted to impart a back and forth movement of thechain and alternate rotation of the sprocket gears in oppositedirections, a drive shaft driven by one of the sprockets, guide tracksdisposed adjacent each reciprocal rod, and rollers carried by the rodsand arms and engaging the guide tracks.

7. A boat propelling mechanism comprising a support, a sprocket gearjournaled at each end Y of the support, an endless sprocket chaincarried by the sprocket gears, said gears separating the chain into tworeach portions, a pair of reciprocal rods mounted in the support, oneadjacent each reach of the chain, a drive shaft driven by one of thesprockets, a connection between each rod and the adjacent reach of thechain whereby reciprocal movement of the rods may be transmitted toimparta back and forth movement of the chain and alternate rotation ofthe drive shaft in opposite directions, a steering column through whichthe drive shaft extends, a housing on the lower end of the steeringcolumn, a propeller journaled in the housing and driven by the driveshaft, a sprocket gear secured Ito the steering column, a cooperativesprocket gear 'in the steering column and the housing secured at the llower end thereof so as to swing the propeller in different directions.

8. A boat propelling mechanism comprising a support, a sprocket gearjournaled at each end of the support, an endless sprocket chain carriedby the sprocket gears, said gears separating the chain into two reachportions, a pair of reciprocal rods mounted in the support,v oneadjacent each reach of the chain,v a driveshaft driven by one of thesprockets, a connection between each rod and the adjacent reach ofthechain whereby reciprocal movement of the rodsris transmitted toimpart a back-and-forth movement to the chain and alternate rotation ofthe drive shaft in opposite directions, a second pair of reciprocal rodsmounted in the boat and slidably mounted with relation to the :thwartsin the boat, a plurality of spaced sleeve-like members on each rod, aplurality of vertically disposed hand grips on each sleeve wherebyreciprocal movement is transmitted to the rods, and means wherebyreciprocal movement of said rods is transmitted to the first namedreciprocal rods.

9. In a boat propelling mechanism of the character described a rodadapted to extend longitudinally of a boat, means for slidablysupporting the rod with relation to thwarts on the boat, a plurality ofspaced sleeve-like members secured to the rod, four spaced verticallyextending hand grips formed on each sleeve whereby reciprocal movementis transmitted to the rod, and means whereby reciprocal movement of therod is transmitted to drive the propelling mechanism.

10. A boat propelling mechanism comprising a support, a sprocket gearjournaled at each end of the support, an endless sprocket chain carriedby the sprocket gears,` said gears separatingthe chain into two reachportions, a pair of reciprocal members disposed in the support oneadjacent each reach of the chain, a driving-connection between eachreciprocal member andthe adjacent reach ofthe chain, whereby reciprocalmovement of the reciprocal members is transmitted to impartA aback-and-forth movement to the chain, and whereby the chain alternatelyrotates Ythe sprocket gears rst in one direction and then in an oppositedirection, a propeller shaft, and a driving connection between one ofthe sprocket gears and the propeller shaft whereby the alternaterotation of the sprocket gears in opposite directions is transmittedtorotate the propeller shaft inone direction.

11. A boat propelling mechanism comprising a support, a verticallydisposed drive shaft mounted therein, a sprocket gear secured on saidshaft, an idler, a single chain surrounding the sprocket and the idler,said sprocket and idler dividing the chain into two reachfportions,means for exerting a pull first on one reach portion and then on theother to transmit a back-and-forth movement to the chain, saidback-and-forth movement of the chain alternately rotating the sprocketgear first in one direction and thenin an opposite direction, apropeller shaft, and a driving connection between thel `drive and thepropeller shaft whereby the alternate rotation of the sprocket gear anddrive shaft in opposite directions is transmitted to rotate thepropeller shaft in one direction. I. l

CLARENCE W. ALLEN.

